1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chest drainage system, and particularly to a chest drainage device for suctioning gases and liquids from the chest cavity of a patient. More specifically, the present invention relates to a sampling port for directly accessing a collection chamber of the chest drainage device.
2. Prior Art
A chest drainage device is an apparatus for suctioning gases and liquids from the pleural cavity of patients. The pleural cavity lies within the rib cage above the diaphragm and is surrounded by the pleural membrane. The pleural cavity contains both lungs, which in their normal expanded state fill the pleural cavity. Several conditions and diseases such as interventional surgery, trauma, emphysema and various respiratory infections can cause build up of liquid and gases around the lungs in the intrapleural space. When this happens, it causes the lungs to collapse to a volume much less than that of the pleural cavity, thereby severely impairing the breathing functions of the patient. The lungs can be re-expanded to their normal state to fill the pleural cavity by draining the liquid and gases from the pleural cavity using a chest drainage device.
There are many kinds of chest drainage devices used to drain the pleural cavity of a patient. One kind of drainage device, sometimes referred to as a xe2x80x9cthree-bottlexe2x80x9d type, is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,363,626 to Bidwell et al. entitled xe2x80x9cUnderwater Drainage Apparatusxe2x80x9d. The xe2x80x9cthree-bottlexe2x80x9d type drainage device has three interconnecting chambers which comprise: (1) a collection chamber for collecting liquids and gases suctioned from the patient""s pleural cavity through a catheter; (2) an underwater seal chamber which communicates with the collection chamber and has a water seal which acts as a one way valve for passing gases collected from the patient""s pleural cavity to the atmosphere; and (3) a suction control chamber for limiting the maximum suction (or negative pressure) applied to the patient""s pleural cavity.
In operation, a source of vacuum is applied to the Bidwell et al. device such that the negative pressure generated in the collection chamber causes shed liquid and gases from the patient""s pleural cavity to collect inside the collection chamber. As the liquid and gases enter the collection chamber, the vacuum establishes a fluid pathway which causes the collected gases to pass from the collection chamber and through the water seal of the water seal chamber. Once through the water seal, the gases are evacuated from the drainage device through a vacuum port which is in communication with the water seal chamber.
Often it is desirable to draw a sample of collected fluid directly from the collection chamber of a chest drainage device in order to perform periodic testing of the fluid. The chest drainage devices of the prior art use non-mechanical valves which require a needle tipped syringe in order to directly access fluid in the collection chamber. These non-mechanical valves are usually grommet or rubber bung ports located adjacent the collection chamber which have an elastomeric membrane that reseals when penetrated by a needle tipped syringe. However, the drawback with using a needle tipped syringe with such prior art sampling ports is the potential danger of a user being inadvertently stuck with a contaminated needle after withdrawing a sample of fluid from the collection chamber.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a sampling port which permits direct withdraw of a fluid sample from the collection chamber of a drainage device using a needle-less syringe. There is a further need in the art for a drainage device having a mechanical sampling port that permits easy and direct access to the collection chamber.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a mechanical sampling port for a drainage device.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a mechanical sampling port which directly communicates with the collection chamber of a medical drainage device using a needle-less syringe.
In brief summary, the present invention overcomes and substantially alleviates the deficiencies present in the art by providing a mechanical sampling port for a drainage device which allows direct access to the collection chamber using a needle-less syringe.
Preferably, the drainage device comprises a mechanical sampling port and related method of use thereof for a chest drainage device that permits the practitioner to withdraw a sample of fluid directly from the collection chamber using a needle-less syringe. The sampling port comprises a mechanical two way valve which directly communicates and accesses the collection chamber. The practitioner utilizes the sampling port by engaging a needle-less syringe, for example a luer tip syringe, into the two way valve inside the sampling port which places the two-way valve in the open position. When the practitioner desires to withdraw a sample of fluid, he or she simply pulls back the plunger of the syringe until a sufficient amount of blood or fluid from the collection chamber fills the syringe. Once a sufficient amount of fluid is withdrawn from the collection chamber, the user disengages the syringe which automatically returns the two-way valve to the normally closed position.
In an alternate embodiment, the sampling port uses a one-way valve instead of a two-way valve to access the collection chamber. The one-way valve comprises a body having a first interior chamber in communication with a second interior chamber separated by an inner shoulder. Similar to the preferred embodiment, an insert is engaged to one end of the body. However, unlike the preferred embodiment, the alternate embodiment includes a spring-loaded valve member which selectively engages a seat formed by the insert when the one-way valve is operated between open and closed positions. In operation, the practitioner engages a needle-less syringe to one end of the one-way valve and actuates the plunger of the syringe to create a suction inside first and second interior chambers. The suction causes the spring-loaded valve member to disengage from the seat and permit fluid flow communication with the collection chamber so that a sample may be withdrawn.
These and other objects of the present invention are realized in the preferred embodiment, described by way of example and not by way of limitation, which provides for a mechanical sampling port for a drainage device that permits the practitioner to use a needle-less syringe to directly access the collection chamber.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following more detailed description and drawings in which like elements of the invention are similarly numbered throughout.